The invention relates to a method for constructing or altering a matter- and/or heat-exchange device, said mass- and/or heat-exchange device comprising an assembly of at least one first and one second stackable modular elements (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L), in which the first element is secured over the second element or the second element is secured below the first element in a sealed manner, such that a fluid can flow from the body of the first element to the body of the second element and/or from the body of the second element to the body of the first element.

Provided are a refrigerator including an aerogel serving as an auxiliary insulation material and a manufacturing method thereof. The refrigerator includes a main body including an inner case constituting a storage compartment and an outer case disposed outside the inner case, a main insulation material disposed between the inner case and the outer case, and an aerogel coating layer formed on a rear surface of the inner case or a front surface of the outer case by coating a liquid-phase aerogel and curing the aerogel.

In this patent we disclose, for the first time, detailed methods of our newly invented state-of-the-art cryogenic technology for the cost effective energy efficient capture of each known component of entire emissions (nearly 100%) such as carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2), sulfur oxides (SO.sub.x), nitrogen oxides (NO.sub.x), carbon monoxide(CO), any other acid vapor, mercury, steam and unreacted nitrogen from industrial plants (coal and natural gas fired power plants, cement plants etc.), in a liquefied or frozen/solidified form, such that each of the components is captured separately and is industrially useful. This new technology includes a novel NH.sub.3 power plant to generate auxiliary electrical power from the heat energy of the flue gas to further improve the energy efficiency and cost effectiveness of the capture processes. It is the most cost effective of all existing emission capture technologies. It does not require use of any chemicals/reagents/external cryogens, unlike the current technologies. It uses only a fixed amount of water needed for the cooling process which can be used repeatedly. We present detailed methods of operations, together with scientific and economic analysis of the energy needed and cost involved for the said capture in two specific examples, and advantages of the new technology over the existing ones.

A stackable modular element comprises a parallelepipedal caisson, the caisson comprising at least one layer of thermal insulation of thickness less than one-third of the width of the caisson, the layer of insulation covering at least the lateral and frontal faces of the caisson and surrounding at least one chamber having a parallelepipedal volume within the caisson, the chamber containing at least one body of material that permits the exchange of mass and/or of heat, the body being parallelepipedal in shape and filling at least part of the chamber, the chamber having an opening on the upper face and/or an opening on the lower face to allow fluid to be transferred to the body from outside the element and/or from the body to outside the element.

An arrangement of insulation within a container to prevent heat leakage from the ambient to an apparatus located within the container that operates at a cryogenic temperature. The arrangement of insulation includes bulk insulation filling the container and an insulation layer that is located within the container, between the apparatus and the container. The insulation layer as opposed to the bulk insulation has a lower thermal conductivity. An exterior region of the apparatus is situated closer to an opposite container wall region of the container than remaining exterior regions of the apparatus. The insulation layer is sized to only insulate the exterior region of the apparatus from heat leakage from the opposite container wall region. The insulation layer can be formed of an aerogel.

Provided are a refrigerator including an aerogel serving as an auxiliary insulation material and a manufacturing method thereof.

The refrigerator includes a main body including an inner case constituting a storage compartment and an outer case disposed outside the inner case, a main insulation material disposed between the inner case and the outer case, and an aerogel coating layer formed on a rear surface of the inner case or a front surface of the outer case by coating a liquid-phase aerogel and curing the aerogel.

A cryogenic fluid purification device comprising: a first container defining an interior region; a second container defining an interior region in fluid communication with the interior region of the first container; and a cryogenic fluid in contact with an exterior of the second container.

A process for establishing vacuum insulation under cryogenic condition and an apparatus compatible with such process are described. When an insulation enclosure filled with high purity CO.sub.2 is evacuated to around 100 absolute Pa at ambient temperature, hard vacuum of below 1 absolute Pa may be automatically obtained within the insulation enclosure when temperature drops to around or below 170 C. This process can be employed to provide vacuum insulation for cold box housing air separation units operated under cryogenic condition.